Dorothy Johnson

Behavioral System
Model
Behavior
 The output of intra-organismic
structures and processes as they are
coordinated and articulated by and
responsive to changes in sensory
stimulation
System
  “A system is a whole that functions as a
whole by virtue of the interdependence of
its parts.”
  She accepts Chinn’s statement that there
is “organization, interaction,
interdependency and integration of the
parts and elements.”
  A person strives to maintain a balance in
these through adjustments and adaptations
to the impinging forces.
Behavioral System
  Encompasses the patterned, repetitive,
and purposeful ways of behaving that form
an organized and integrated functional unit
that determines and limits the interaction
between the person and his/her
environment and establishes the
relationship of person to the objects,
events, and situations within his/her
environment. It can be described and
explained
  The system is usually flexible enough to
accommodate the influences affecting it.
Subsystems
  A minisystem with its own particular goal
and function that can be maintained as long
as its relationship to other subsystems or
the environment is not disrupted
  The 7 subsystems identified by Johnson
are open, linked, and interrelated. They all
have input and output components.
  Motivational drives direct the activities of
these subsystems, which are continually
changing through maturation, experience,
and learning.
Seven Subsystems
1. Attachment/Affiliative
Subsystem
  Probably the most critical because it
forms the basis for all social
organization
  It provides survival and security
  Its consequences are social
inclusion, intimacy, and formation
and maintenance of a strong social
bond.
2. Dependency Subsystem
  Promotes helping behavior that calls
for a nurturing response
  Its consequences are approval,
attention or recognition, and physical
assistance.
  Certain amount of interdependence
is essential for the survival of social
groups.
3. Ingestive Subsystem
  It has to do with when, how, what,
how much, and under what conditions
we eat.
  It serves the broad function of
appetitive satisfaction.
  Behavior is associated with social,
psychological, and biological
considerations.
4. Eliminative Subsystem
  It addresses when, how, and under
what conditions we eliminate.
5. Sexual Subsystem
  This has dual functions of
procreation and gratification.
  It includes courting and mating; this
response begins with the
development of gender role identity
and includes the broad range of sex-
role behaviors.
6. Achievement Subsystem
  attempts to manipulate the
environment
  Its function is to control or mastery
of an aspect of self or environment to
some standard of excellence.
  Areas of achievement include
intellectual, physical, creative,
mechanical, and social skills.
7. Aggressive/Protective
Subsystem
  Its function is protection and
preservation.
  Aggressive behavior is not only
learned, but has a primary intent to
harm others.
  Society demands that limits be
placed on modes of self-protection
and that people and their property be
respected and protected.
EQUILIBRIUM
  Defined as stabilized but more or less
transitory, resting state in which the
individual is in harmony with himself and
with his environment.
  It implies that biological and psychological
forces are in balance with each other and
with impinging social forces.
TENSION
  Defined as a state of being
stretched or strained and can be
viewed as an end-product of a
disturbance in equilibrium.
  Can be constructive in adaptive
change or destructive in ineffective
use of energy, hindering adaptation
and causing potential structural
damage
STRESSOR
  Internal or external stimuli that
produce tension and result in a
degree of instability
  May be positive or negative
Metaparadigm of Nursing
Nursing
  Johnson perceives Nursing as an external force
acting to preserve the organization of the patient’s
behavior by means of imposing regulatory
mechanisms or by providing resources while the
patient is under stress.
  An art and a science, it supplies external assistance
both before and during system imbalance. Therefore,
it requires knowledge or order, disorder, and control.
  Nursing activities do not depend on medical
authority, but they are complementary to medicine.
Person
  She views the person as a behavioral system with
patterned, repetitive, and purposeful ways of
behaving that link the person to the environment.
  An individual’s specific response patterns form an
organized and integrated whole.
  A person is a system of interdependent parts that
requires some regularity and adjustment to
maintain balance.
  When the behavioral system is disturbed and the
individual’s integrity is threatened, he/she attempts
to reestablish balance may require an extraordinary
expenditure of energy, which leaves a shortage of
assist biological processes and recovery.
Health
  Health as an elusive, dynamic state
influenced by biological, psychological, and
social factors
  It is the desired value by health
professionals and focuses on the person
rather than the illness.
  It is reflected by the organization,
interaction, interdependence, and
integration of the subsystems of the
behavioral system
Environment
  It consist all the factors that are not part
of the individual’s behavioral system, but it
can influence the system.
  The behavioral system attempts to
maintain equilibrium in response to
environmental factors by adjusting and
adapting to the forces that impinge on it.
  When the environment is stable, the
individual is able to continue with
successful behaviors.
Theoretical Assertions
 Two Major Components of Behavioral
System Model:
1. The patient
2. Nursing
 Four Structural Elements of
Subsystem
1. Drive, or goal
2. Set, predisposition to act
3. Choice, alternatives for action
4. behavior
Subsystem’s Three Functional
Requirements
1. Protection
2. Nurturance
3. Stimulation